9 WWE Superstars who retired before they turned 40

#3 Corey Graves

Although he has made a name for himself behind the announcing desk on SmackDown, Corey Graves once had a promising future as a professional wrestler. He spent around a decade in the indies, before moving to WWE. His brief stint in WWE NXT saw him winning the NXT Tag Team titles on one occasion, with Adrian Neville.

After suffering a second concussion in 2014, Graves' career came to an end. He was 30 when he announced his official retirement.

#2 Tyson Kidd

Famously dubbed as the final graduate of the legendary Hart Dungeon, Tyson Kidd was a main roster regular from 2009 to 2015. He and David Hart Smith formed a team, with Natalya by the duo's side. Kidd won the tag team titles on three occasions, alongside Smith and Cesaro.

Cesaro and Kidd competed in the first-ever Tag Team Elimination Chamber Match in 2015, which was the latter's last televised match. He suffered a spinal cord injury during a dark match against Samoa Joe on WWE RAW, which ultimately ended his career. Kidd was 35 at the time of his last match.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Raunak J